JUNE 22
1897: The balcony is completed at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, future home of the Grand Ole Opry. The extra level of seats was installed to accommodate an upcoming convention of Civil War veterans and is dubbed the Confederate Gallery.
1930: Roy Drusky was born in Atlanta, GA. He joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1959 before notching more than a dozen smooth-voiced hits. He also wrote several Faron Young successes, including “Alone With You” and “Country Girl.”
1936: Kris Kristofferson was born in Brownsville, TX. He recorded the 1973 hit “Why Me,” became a member of The Highwaymen, appears in numerous movies and wrote such classics as “Help Me Make It Through The Night” and “For The Good Times.” Kristofferson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004.
1944: Peter Asher was born in London. After forming one-half of the 1960s pop duo Peter & Gordon, he produced the bulk of Linda Ronstadt’s country hits, including “Blue Bayou,” “When Will I Be Loved” and “Love Is A Rose.”
1944: Marine Ferlin Husky was among the American troops who took part in the invasion of Cherbourg, France, during World War II.
1951: MGM released Hank Williams’ “Hey, Good Lookin’“
1957: “The Jimmy Dean Show” made its prime-time debut on CBS-TV 11 weeks after the network first started airing it as a six days-a-week daytime program.
1959: Decca releases Webb Pierce’s “I Ain’t Never.”
1965: Bill Phillips recorded “Put It Off Until Tomorrow” with Dolly Parton providing harmonies.
1968: Conway Twitty recorded “Next In Line” at the Columbia Studios in Nashville.
1974: Waylon Jennings commanded his first #1 single in Billboard with “This Time.”
1979: Waylon Jennings recorded “Come With Me” and added to “I Ain’t Living Long Like This,” two days after he started it, in Nashville’s American Studios.
1979: Warner/Curb released The Bellamy Brothers’ album “The Two And Only.”
1981: Merle Haggard recorded “Going Where The Lonely Go” at Britannia Studios, owned by Tom Jones, in Los Angeles.
1991: Garth Brooks and “The Thunder Rolls” took the #1 position on the Billboard country singles chart.
1993: BNA Records released John Anderson’s “Solid Ground” album (3 Top 5s, 1 #1, Gold).
1993: Giant Records released Carlene Carter’s “Little Love Letters” album (1 Top 5).
1993: MCA released Mark Chesnutt’s “Almost Goodbye” album (3 #1s, Platinum).
1993: Mercury released Billy Ray Cyrus’ “It Won’t Be The Last” album (Follow-up to debut, 2 Top 10s, Platinum).
1993: Jett Williams settled out of court with Roy Acuff’s estate over royalties from the songs of Hank Williams. She discovered as an adult that she was Williams’ daughter and engaged in an eight-year series of court battles.
1996: With echoes of Bob Dylan and Hank Williams in the production and lyrics, Tracy Lawrence began a three-week run at #1 in Billboard with “Time Marches On.”
1999: Asylum released “Cold Hard Truth,” the album George Jones was recording at the time of his near-fatal car accident in March of that year.
2002: George Strait had another #1 single in Billboard with “Living And Living Well.”
2011: Glen Campbell reveals in People magazine that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Despite the issues it posed in remembering lyrics, he said he intended on launching a farewell concert tour in the fall.
